Safety razor



Nov..28, 1944. MU S 2,363,609

SAFETY RAZOR Filed- March 3, 1944 which includes as one of itsflexibleopen-end blade. 1 l Open-end razor blades, that is to say,blades Patented Nov. 28. 1944 SAFETY RAZOR l Joseph Muros, Cambridge,Mass, assignorto Gl l- \lette Safety Razor Company, BostongjMass a 7corporation of Delaware consists in a new razor-.and-blade combinationhaving a medial slot opening out, through one of their transverse endedges, may be employed 3 in safety razors in which thecap and guardblades have also the additional advantage that they may, be presentededgewise inany safety razor: whereinlthe cap and guardmembers areconnected to a permit only a limited separation and are not completelydetachable. -Such razors are preferred by many users because theyinclude no looseparts likely to be lost or mislaid in use;

elements a thin,

members are, detachably connected, and such It has -beenrfound1 that,in, safety razors of the'type wherein the blade is transversely flexedwhen it is clamped in shaving position, as in the Gillettetype safetyrazors, the cuttingedges ofan open-end bladeare frequently deflectedoutof 'theirnormal parallel relation. Whereas the two sharpenedlongitudinal ,edges may be disposed accurately in parallel relation whenthe outline of the blade is initially determined, the

two edges are often found to diverge toward the open end of the bladewhen the bladeis flexed the open end of the blade. tail, the sideportions are tied together at the Application March 3,1944, Serial 01524944 l l t A 3Claims, (ciao-65)) This invention relates to safetyrazors and transversely. and longitudinally between them.

When suchv'combined flexing distortion is impressed upon-a flexibleopen-end blade it results in a converging movementor tendency at thefree end of theblade; narrowing themedial slot and compensating for anyobjectionable spreading,

tendency which might otherwise occur in the side portions of the blade.l I

Having made this(discovery,, I go a step farther and provideiin therazorwstructure an abutment or stophaving. oppositely disposed gaugingfaces arrangedto be placed in the slot of the blade, at its open ,endandto arrest the converging movement of the free Tends of the blade whenthat movement has progressed tothe point at which the sharpened outeredges of the blade lie exactly parallel to each other. Thus, without anymodification in thestructure of the open-end blade it,- self, Lam abletoinsurea compensating closing-, in movement] when thegblade is clampedpreparatoryto use and to obviate all the disadvantages whichotherwiseappear to be unavoidably associated withopeneendblades..These'andother features of the invention will be best understood andappreciated from the; followin description of l a preferred embodimentthereof selected forpurposes of illustration and tion and on anenlarged, scale;

closed end of the blade by a flexible connection which, when curved bythe cooperating clamping elements of the razor, causes the cutting edgesof the, blade to draw together. However, inasmuch asthe side portions ofthe blade adjacent endsare not subjected to this drawing-in action.These differences in structure and behavior, and possibly other causes,often result in a departure from parallelism of the two sharpenedcutting edges in an open-end blade when finally clamped in shavingposition. Such variation detracts from the precision of the assembledrazor and produces irregularities in the edge exposure of to its openend are free and unconnected the free l the blade that may even becomeso excessive as to be dangerous in some cases.

i I have discovered that uneven edge exposure in open-end blades maybeeliminated by a novel razor-and-blade combination, that is to say, by

combining a flexible open-end blade with a razor Fig. 3 is a view inperspective of the various parts of. the razor in exploded relation.

The razor herein selected for purposes of illustration is similar to thewell-known Gillette safety razor except that its cap and guard membersare shaped to present complementary longi- The guard member ID as shownin Fig. 3 is depression 13 is provided a circular aperture Id NT.)OFFICE The.

through which passes with clearance the threaded stem l9 of the cap. i

The cap member 16 has a concave blade-engaging face and ,is somewhatwider between its longitudinal edges than the spacing of the fulcrumshoulders ll of the guard member so that the cap may flex an interposedblade over the fulcrum shoulders! L- It is provided in each of. itscornerswwithi a'adownwardly :pr'o'jecting; reen' forcing lug I1. In itslongitudinal medial axis lies a blade-locating rib l8 which is to formthe-t abutment or blade-stop as will be presently described. Centrallydisposed With respect tortl'iea.

- rib I8 is a downwardly extending. threaded stem. i9, having aflattened section'nearfiitsiinner en'd't. that does not exceed thethickness of the rib so that the slotted blade may pass in thisflattened section when introduced endwise'=-beneatha' the" cap. Atubular handle 20 is threadedtorfit the stem l9.

One or the" many opennend ltypesz: of: blade? adapted for-"use:withhthei razonrabovezdescribedf is" shownin Fig.7 3 andr'comprisessanzrelongated: body 22 separated-into:twocrsida portionsicbyw a: medialslot"23"opening' out'throughtthe lett-ihand: transverse edgeof the bladwThe twocsides-por tions are connected at the right handfside ofi the rblade by a transverse hinge pbntion z4 bvhich; al-* thoughslightlyanneald in the process 'orimanufa'cture; retainsalmost thelsameiztemperfandi resiliency as theremainuenof the made; The slot 2 anasvariousmtermediate enlargementszdew signed to" fit" the bIad IocatingT-projections; of? razors in "which it may be' usewan'd :also--' a cantral circular aperturetoreceive with clearance shoulders H of the guardmember by the edges of the cap I6. At the same time a longitudinalcurvature or bowing is imparted to the blade by the complementarylongitudinal curvature of the safety razor parts. It is this secondaryor 1ongitudinal curvature that tends to draw together the free ends ofthe two sharpened side portions of theoblade 22. This drawing togetherof the bladeaiportionsi continues: until; the inner edges of the bladeslot 23 bring up against the oppov sitely disposed faces of' theblade-locating rib sharpened cutting edges of the blade have been l8.When this occurs, as already explained, the

positioned exactly in.parallel relation and any i spreadihggtendencyyorfailure to maintain par allel relationlhasibeen'thus compensated for andeliminated entirely in the clamped razor.

Having thust disclosed my invention and described in detail anillustrated embodiment thereof, I claim as new and desire to secure byLetters::Batent:

1.1.Tl1e combinatiomzoflarrazornhaving cooperaating blades-clampingmembers-1 shapedatot. flex: transversely a thinblade-5interposed-;.between; them and: conformed; in: complementary'longitudinal; curvature; with. an;.open.-endv flexible; bladefiexed'betweenfsaid 'membersziiandi thereby drawnr together at itsiopen'endn2ii.The-= combination of" an'sv openeenda' razor i blade, witha'razor'comprisingrcooperating blade;- clamping members having opposedfacestrans versel'ycurved and: also longitudinally curved;thereby'imparting a closing-together tendency to:

the open end ofthe blade'.

31 The combination ofa double-'edgedrazor blade having a medial slotope'ni'ng' through one of'it's end'edg'es, with arazorcomprising abladesupporting member having" parallelf fulcrum shoulders, and a"cap'memb'er'having a trans-- versely-curved blade-engaging facenforflexing v the blade over said shoulders; both of said mem- 7 bars beingshaped to impart also 'alongitudinal curvature to the blade" and therebycontract its

